_____[POV: Third person]_____
The basket of dirty laundry swayed gently in Aiko's arms as she crossed the living room, her gaze absently drifting past the window. Her bare feet padded softly against the wooden floor, and the low hum of the TV was almost ignored… until the reporter's words caught her attention.
"—…the frequency of unidentified objects appearing in Earth's orbit has intensified. Experts are still investigating whether there is a connection between these events and the recent electromagnetic disturbances recorded worldwide—"
Aiko paused for a second, tilting her head slightly toward the TV. Her blue eyes narrowed with worry.
"Where on earth has Ryuji gone? He should've been back with the groceries by now…" she muttered to herself, in that typical motherly tone that mixed affection with exhaustion.
She sighed and kept walking as the news continued, now showing blurry footage of what appeared to be ships in the night skies of various cities.
Distant Galaxy, 3 Billion Light-Years Away — The Kavrin-7 System
The vastness of the cosmos was a spectacle unto itself.
A sea of stars shimmered around a spiral galaxy, with vibrant-hued planets slowly orbiting an indigo sun. Among them stood out a planet covered in emerald-green oceans and turquoise-blue forests—a true alien paradise.
On the planet's surface, humanoid insectoid creatures—resembling bipedal ants with blue exoskeletons and faceted eyes—moved between towering metallic structures of extremely advanced architecture. On a hill dotted with residences, a small ship descended slowly, landing in front of what appeared to be a high-status home.
A young insectoid rushed out the door and sprinted toward the ship, shouting excitedly:
"K'tzz-ch'rii, Zkorr! K'tzz-ch'rii!" ("Daaaaad!")
The adult insectoid spread his arms, his exoskeleton glistening under the emerald sun. He knelt, embracing his son before lifting him effortlessly.
"Tz'rrk-vek Vekti! K'thal vrii-ch'zek ith nox'tal!" ("My little Vekti! How much you've grown this cycle!")
The tender moment, however, was abruptly cut short by a sudden, sinister darkening of the sky. It wasn't a cloud, nor an eclipse. It was something… bigger.
The father clutched his son to his chest, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
And then… she appeared.
Capital of Chiv'Qorra, Planet Ullveth-Ka
The colossal ship loomed in space like a living wound in the fabric of the universe itself. Its semicircular form and metallic tendrils spread like a plague, covering over a third of the planet and plunging entire continents into a false night. It was as if reality itself had been swallowed by an intelligent shadow.
At the heart of the planet's most populous city, a structure emerged from the ship, forming a floating platform. A flickering hologram began to take shape in the sky, projected by hundreds of drones.
The image stabilized, revealing the enormous, uncomfortably close face of a woman.
"Is this thing recording?" she asked, leaning forward.
A robotic voice replied from the background:
"Yes, Empress Nuell. The translators are also functional—"
She rolled her eyes and glanced at the papers in her hand, letting out a dramatic sigh.
"Seriously, you want me to read this? 'Dear inhabitants—' Ugh, how boring!"
Nuell tore the papers and tossed them aside.
"Screw it, I'll do it my way."
She straightened her posture, her tone now dripping with charm and delicious menace.
"Greetings, inhabitants of this no-name planet. I am Nuell… future Empress of the Universe and, eventually, one with it. That's right—" she winked with a mocking smirk "—I'm gonna be the universe. Fancy, huh?"
She moved gracefully within the hologram, her crimson eyes gleaming.
"This little rock of yours was randomly chosen—or cursed, depending on how you look at it—to be marked by me. This… will kill the planet. And you." She made a dramatic gesture with her trident. "But since I'm a fair empress, I'll give you a chance to fight for this juicy little chunk you call home."
From the underside of the ship, a massive metallic platform began descending, blotting out the sky. On it stood a lone figure.
"That right there is Boros, my little warrior. My strongest. A real sweetheart, if you're into violent death and overwhelming power." Nuell grinned like someone introducing a pet—except instead of cute, it was terrifying.
Boros stepped forward to the edge of the platform, his eyes glowing like beacons. He spoke with authority:
"Bring your strongest. A champion. If you have none, then come as you are. I make no distinctions."
His single blue eye narrowed, and a faint sadistic smile curled on his lips.
"I won't hold back against anyone… not even your planet."
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The mild scent of curry and sautéed vegetables filled the Japanese-style house as Kyone Satomi—or Kin, as she was called by her close family and husband—carefully stirred the pot on the stove. Her long black hair was tied in a messy bun, and though her eyes remained closed as always, the fluidity of her movements made it clear that her blindness had never been a real obstacle. Her echolocation Quirk gave her such sharp perception that she could detect even the faintest footsteps on the tatami.
In the living room, little Akihiro was sunk into the cushions, his amber eyes glued to the screen as Batman delivered yet another choreographed beatdown to Gotham's villains. He mimicked each punch with a clenched fist, completely immersed in the show.
The door creaked open slightly, followed by a familiar voice:
"I'm home," said Adrian, his steady and comforting presence filling the space.
Kin lowered the stove's flame, carefully turning off the gas burners. With a soft smile, she walked over to her husband and wrapped him in a warm hug, kissing his cheek.
"Is this the guest you mentioned earlier?" she asked, tilting her head toward the figure standing behind Adrian.
"Yeah," Adrian replied with a small smile. "This is Ryuji. And the furry one is Rice Cake."
Kin bowed subtly in the right direction.
"Welcome. Make yourselves at home. I'll bring some tea shortly… Oh, and don't mind the strong smell—it's just the curry," she said before returning to the kitchen, the aroma of the stew thickening in the air once again.
Ryuji observed everything with a curious, analytical expression.
"She's blind?"
Adrian nodded calmly.
"Since birth. But her Quirk gives her an alternative form of vision, based on echolocation. In practice, she sees more than most people."
"That's really interesting, but too bad she can't see me… Guess I'll just haunt the place like a poltergeist while you guys talk," whispered Bill, who had been standing beside Ryuji the whole time, a mischievous glint in his eye.
Before he could do anything, Ryuji wrapped him in telekinesis and squeezed his floating body like a rubber squeaky toy.
"Better stay quiet, flying Dorito. Not the time for hauntings," he growled under his breath before giving him another squeeze.
SFX: SQUEEK!
Bill let out a "meh," adjusted his top hat and bowtie once released, and floated beside the two, rolling his (single) eye as if bored by the scolding.
They walked down the hallway, the sound of the Batman episode reaching its climax. When they entered the living room, Akihiro finally tore his gaze from the TV, and his eyes lit up when he saw his father.
"Dad!" he shouted, running over excitedly.
Adrian knelt and hugged him tightly, laughing along with his son.
"How was your day, little detective?"
"I solved a super hard case! The cookie thief… was Mom!"
Adrian laughed, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Good job. But now Daddy has to talk to a special guest, okay? Why don't you go play in your room for a bit?"
Akihiro glanced at Ryuji curiously—since he could only see Ryuji. He had no idea there was someone else beside him, much less a triangular entity probably making faces just to mess with him.
"Okay! Bye, blond guy!" he said before dashing up the stairs.
With that, the three settled around the low table on the comfortable tatami floor. Kin appeared with a wooden tray, delicately placing two steaming cups on the table.
"Here you go. Enjoy," she said with a gentle smile before returning to the kitchen.
Noticing there was only tea for Ryuji and Adrian, Bill snapped his fingers. An ethereal teacup and teapot materialized out of thin air, floating in front of him. With a theatrical sip, he joined the meeting, sighing loudly.
"Hmph. Not a drop for me. You'd think I wasn't the multidimensional guardian angel who's been protecting this planet in real-time…"
Ryuji shot him a warning look, and Bill just raised his hands in surrender.
Adrian picked up his cup and took a small sip, looking straight at Ryuji.
"You comfortable? Because what I'm about to tell you is gonna give you a headache… again."
Ryuji let out a deep sigh, sinking slightly deeper into the tatami.
"It's Monday, man. Headaches are on the schedule. Shoot."
Bill huffed dramatically beside them.
"Oh, great. Because the story of how I got here…"
"Right... what happened to you after death? Did you also check in at the celestial front desk, get a golden ticket, and pick your superpowers? Honestly, I never really asked other reincarnates about it—I just killed them and moved on."
Adrian chuckled softly.
"More or less. Before being sent to this world, all of us reincarnates came into contact with an entity. A god, so to speak. In my case... it was a woman. The voice, at least. She gave me two powers. One was the reset. The other..."
He turned, a teasing smile on his lips.
"I got all of Aizen's abilities."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow.
"Aizen? The one from Bleach? You..."
"Yeah, before you ask, I already tried using his shikai on you. Didn't work. Probably because your soul is an anomaly beyond any logic," Adrian said, resting his chin on his hand with feigned boredom.
Bill burst out laughing after hearing that.
"Bold of you to try that on the boss," he said in a theatrical, circus-announcer tone.
Adrian crossed his arms.
"Bold of you to have secret meetings with your 'friend' on the moon."
Ryuji slowly turned to Bill, narrowing his eyes.
"...Friend?"
Bill immediately started sweating more.
"It was just Allen! You remember him! Allen with an 'A,' that one-eyed alien you almost killed before! We had tea and talked about the deplorable state of modern pop culture... nothing serious. He's under contract! Everything's under control!"
Adrian raised his hand as if closing a book.
"Anyway. Back to the topic before the talking Dorito opens his mouth again—"
Ryuji squeezed Bill with his telekinesis like a rubber duck, making the triangle let out a distorted "QUACK."
"We'll talk later..."
"With Bill finally silent—or at least compressed," Adrian continued:
"When I first arrived in this world, all I wanted was a normal life. I wasn't born in Japan like most. It was France. Off-script, way before the story began. But I never got peace. The first reset was chaos: reincarnates fighting, destroying everything... Earth turned to dust, and I died. The second time, same thing. The third, less chaos, but still apocalyptic. Reincarnates are... complicated with their ambitions."
He took a sip of tea.
"Hundreds of thousands of resets. Literally. Dying, learning, fighting lunatics with anime powers and characters with ridiculously strong hips. Until I started noticing something important: when certain reincarnates died, and I reset... they just didn't come back. Like they were one-time existences."
Ryuji crossed his arms.
"And you're the exception."
"Maybe. I come back. Always. I just don't know if there's anything that can erase me for good. Haven't found it yet."
Silence stretched for a few seconds before Adrian went on:
"Eventually, I reached what I call the 'Golden Age.' That's when the canon begins. And you, Ryuji, are born. The first time I saw you, you were five. You'd already conquered Earth. Wiped out most of the evil. Including... me. I was one of the last reincarnates you killed in that cycle."
Ryuji looked away, letting out a sigh.
"How long did we fight?"
"A long time. Many resets. Many deaths. You believed you were doing the greater good—and I understood. Maybe I still do. You care about this world and its people in your own way, even if you won't admit it. But it's kinda ironic..."
Adrian stared directly at him.
"...considering you own the biggest company on the planet, pulling all the strings behind the scenes."
Ryuji shrugged.
"Blame Lucifer."
"I know," Adrian smiled. "Lucifer, Esunami, Morrigan, Lilith, Satoro... Ard... and of course, Bill."
"Present!" Bill raised his hand, still being squeezed like a stress toy.
"You've always had a knack for collecting subordinates," Adrian continued. "—even during that pervy phase when you created Esunami without thinking it through. By the way... did her boobs get bigger in this reset too?"
Bill cackled, elbowing Ryuji.
"He even knows about your character-creation spree!"
Ryuji clenched his eyes shut and crushed Bill again, harder this time, producing an even shriller noise.
"Shut up and stay quiet."
Adrian adjusted himself in his seat, his hand holding the cup as if it were more fragile than it really was.
"You know what was the most interesting thing about all this?" he said, looking directly into Ryuji's eyes. "It was the part where you always got stronger. Every reset, every fight... no matter how much I prepared or planned, your power grew. I think you were right when you told me that Sentry is the Marvel character with the most potential because you just keep getting stupidly stronger with every reset."
Ryuji stared at him in silence, his blue eyes reflecting the soft light of the room.
"Anyway... Absurdly powerful reincarnates started appearing over time as we kept fighting. Some killed me in hundreds of resets... but you..." Adrian paused, his tone laced with uneasy reverence. "Well, you tore them in half."
Bill laughed, lazily leaning against the ceiling as if it were the floor.
"Ah, yes. That's our golden boy's signature move. A classic."
Adrian continued, ignoring Bill:
"When I realized I could never defeat those reincarnates—or you—I decided to change my strategy. Ally myself with you. At first, you still killed me, of course... as usual."
Ryuji arched an eyebrow.
"What do you expect me to do when you're extremely suspicious?"
"Understandable. But thankfully, that changed when you started getting headaches. Visions. Fragments of past resets. And finally, you began to trust me."
Adrian crossed his arms and took a deep breath.
"We became allies. Companions. And... friends. We faced hundreds, thousands of reincarnates. Until reset 5,632,145.39,482,849,202 came."
Ryuji closed his eyes for a moment, as if that number triggered something in his memory.
"Ten thousand years of peace," Adrian said, smiling. "You created your perfect world. No evil. No death. You built your family. And so did I."
"Ten thousand years... Sounds too good to be true," Ryuji murmured, almost to himself.
"It was. Until they arrived."
The atmosphere seemed to grow heavier. Even Bill fell silent.
"The Regents," Adrian said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Reincarnates from other dimensions. We'd never dealt with that before. They always appeared on Earth, or on other planets."
Ryuji rested his elbows on the table, listening intently.
"They're extremely powerful, and fortunately, they weren't exactly allies with each other. Quite the opposite—they killed one another. And in doing so, they destroyed entire universes as collateral."
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bill remarked dryly. "The multiverse being treated like toilet paper."
Adrian nodded.
"It took countless resets, but we managed to eliminate most of them. Until... in the reset before this one... he appeared. Ghamid."
Ryuji frowned.
"Dramatic name... I already don't like him."
"He was different. We'd never seen him before. He called himself 'the embodiment of darkness.' And his powers were similar to the Void. He fought you on equal footing. And... if I hadn't killed myself to reset everything..."
"I would have died?" Ryuji finished, staring at the tea in his cup as if it were a mirror.
"Yes," Adrian confirmed. "He's the only one so far who's pushed you to your limit. Maybe even... surpassed you."
Silence hung in the air for a moment. The tension was almost physical. Ryuji studied his own reflection in the tea's surface, as if searching for answers there.
"So the new objective is to eliminate the Regents and this Ghamid guy?" he asked coldly.
Adrian shook his head.
"Not just them. There's more. He spoke about the 'game' before the fight began... About this world being just an arena. A stage. We're fighting under the gaze of something greater. A game for the 'superiors.' And the last one standing... will join them."
SFX: CRACK!
The cup shattered in Ryuji's hand, spilling liquid onto the table. His golden aura began to emanate, distorting the space around him.
"So all of this... all the resets... all the deaths... was just for the amusement of some damned group of bored gods?"
Bill, with a nervous smirk, scratched the side of his triangular body as he watched Ryuji distort space just by being angry.
"Seems like the audience is enjoying the show."
"They're gonna love what comes next, then..." Ryuji muttered, anger still vibrating in his voice.
At that moment, Kin entered the room with quiet steps.
"I heard something break. Is everything alright?"
Adrian stood up calmly.
"Ah, our guest's cup must have cracked from the heat of the tea, love. Nothing serious."
"Oh, goodness... Let me clean that up."
"Don't worry." Ryuji raised his hand, and with a gesture, he reconstructed the cup and cleaned the mess with his golden energy. "Handy quirk, huh?"
Kin smiled, surprised.
"Very. You're quite kind."
"Sometimes."
Ryuji stood up, adjusting his jacket.
"Well, I should get going. Thanks for the tea."
Adrian walked him to the door. Rice Cake was already waiting, wagging her tail with canine dignity.
"Lucifer will probably contact you soon," Ryuji said. "For... administrative matters."
"I'll be ready and waiting," Adrian replied.
Ryuji took Bolo de Arroz's leash in his mouth and prepared to leave, but stopped at the door, his back turned.
"Hey, Adrian..."
"Hm?"
"Who did I marry in those resets?"
Adrian smirked, looking at his old friend with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Secret."
Ryuji narrowed his eyes, slowly turning his head.
"I hope it wasn't Esunami..."
Bill laughed, shrinking in size and sitting on Ryuji's shoulder.
"Aaahh, c'mon, boss. It wouldn't be so bad—you literally made her the image of your ideal wom—"
Ryuji grabbed mini Bill with his right hand and tossed him into the sky.
"Shut up and get back to work! ...Sorry, Adrian. I'm leaving now."
Adrian watched Ryuji and the others walk away through the gate with a faint smile. The orange hues of the sunset softly reflected in the long strands of his blue hair.
"He's interesting," Kin remarked, appearing beside Adrian with quiet steps, her fingers lightly touching her husband's shoulders.
"Hm?" Adrian turned to her, brushing his hair back automatically. "Ah, yes. Just a casual chat with a teenager."
Kin raised an eyebrow, even with her eyes closed.
"Teenager?" she asked, confused. "You're telling me that guy—the six-foot-tall one with the calm demeanor and the walk of a grown man—is a teenager?"
Adrian chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.
"Kids these days mature way too fast."
"Or you keep getting involved with peculiar teenagers," Kin retorted with a subtle smile. "Something tells me this 'Ryuji' isn't just any ordinary boy."
Adrian just shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"What's ordinary in this world, Kin?"
Before the conversation could go further, quick footsteps sounded from the stairs, and Akihiro burst into the room with excitement in his eyes.
"Dad! Dad! Look what I drew!"
He ran up to Adrian, waving a sheet full of colorful scribbles. In the center were four figures: himself, his mother, Adrian... and Batman.
"Batman?" Adrian laughed, kneeling to pick up his son and examine the drawing. "You put Batman in our family?"
"Of course! He's my favorite hero after you!" Akihiro said proudly. "He's also a detective and super cool, just like you!"
Adrian felt his heart swell with tenderness. He hugged Akihiro tightly, the drawing crumpling slightly against his chest.
"This is the best drawing I've ever seen, Detective Akihiro."
As Kin giggled softly beside him, Adrian closed his eyes for a moment. In that embrace, in that little life... there was warmth, there was meaning. Adrian always felt what had been missing in him in these moments, what he had lost so long ago...
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Ethan Ross.
A name that was once synonymous with trust in the insurance market now echoed as a bitter reminder of betrayal and injustice. He had been a successful investment insurer, someone who worked honestly to secure other people's futures—until his own future was ripped away.
The downfall began with whispers behind closed doors. His best friend, business partner, and boss, Marcus Bell—the man Ethan had trusted blindly—had been scheming in the shadows. And worse, alongside Sophia, the woman Ethan had shared a life, a home… and a daughter with.
The betrayal was surgical. Money laundering, fraud, corruption—crimes Marcus had committed, but Ethan was accused of. Sophia played her part, handing over falsified documents, delivering tearful testimonies in court. In the end, he had no defense. With no evidence in his favor, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
But what hurt the most wasn't the cold cell. It was the silence on the other end of the line. His daughter, Amy—his light, his reason—never answered a single call. Every day he waited, every day he tried… until he stopped.
Eight years later, for good behavior, Ethan was released. Free, but broken.
It didn't take long to find Amy's new address. With a pounding heart and eyes full of hope, he knocked on the door. Marcus answered, wearing a hypocritical smile that nearly made Ethan lose control. Behind him stood Sophia—more beautiful, more wealthy, as if the past had never touched her.
"What do you want here?" she said dryly.
"I just want to see my daughter."
Sophia tried to stop him. Marcus tried to stop him. But then Amy appeared.
Ethan could barely hold back his tears. There she was—a young woman now, with her mother's face but his eyes. He smiled, trembling, and reached out.
"Sweetheart… I missed you so much…"
Amy looked at him like he was an insect.
"You have the nerve to come here? After everything you did to Mom? After stealing Dad Marcus' company? You didn't even try to call and apologize!"
Those words… each one was a stab to the heart. Ethan tried to explain, but Sophia cut him off with fake sobs, and Marcus held her, comforting her like a protective "father."
And then Ethan snapped.
"YOU STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME, MARCUS! MY LIFE, MY FAMILY!"
He lunged at his former friend. Anger overpowered reason. His hands around Marcus' neck trembled—not from weakness, but from emotion. He wanted justice, he wanted to scream, he wanted—
SFX: THUD!
Pain exploded in his head. A rolling pin struck him from the side. He collapsed.
From the floor, Ethan saw blood on his fingers. But something else caught his attention—Amy, worried for Marcus. Crying for *him*.
That… that broke Ethan.
His hand slipped into his pocket. The cold metal of the pistol he always carried for safety now felt hot, pulsing.
Gunshots. Screams. Silence.
When the smoke cleared, Marcus and Sophia lay lifeless on the ground.
Amy screamed, falling to her knees, begging for answers. But Ethan laughed. A mad, almost childlike laugh escaped his lips. Amy lunged at him in a blind rage, knocking him down, the gun skidding away.
"After everything… you're just like your father. You're me."
She glared at him, tears in her eyes and face. She grabbed the fallen gun.
"Yes… I am you."
Those were the last words Ethan heard before the gunshot rang out.
Darkness.
But unlike what he expected, there was no pain. No fire, no cold. Just… white.
A woman's voice echoed in the void.
"You had a miserable life, Ethan Ross. But I give you a new chance. A new world. A new name. And this second chance… has no limits."
Darkness embraced him once more.
When he opened his eyes… there was no prison, no pain. There was soft light. The warmth of a woman's lap.
He was… a baby.
In the arms of a smiling mother, beside a kind man. Both were crying with joy.
Ethan—now Adrian—realized this was the chance he never thought he'd get. The opportunity to live again… and this time, do everything differently.
And he cried. Not from pain. But from the hope of reclaiming the life he had lost.
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(A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating, I kind of had some creative blocks while writing this chapter and kept restarting from scratch. Luckily, I got back into a creative peak when I was making notes about the champions, specifically Nuell. Don't worry, the other champions will arrive in the next chapters, so please be patient. I'll leave it here for now—see you in the next update!)